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Phase 1 (2005 Deadline)
Development of Computational Mechanics Infrastructure and Human Resources
for Advancing Engineering Design Practices in Pakistani Industry
Arif Masud, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Ashfaq Khokhar, University of Illinois at Chicago
Mohammad Abid and Abdullah Sadiq, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of
Engineering Science and Technology
Pakistani Funding (HEC): $302,000
US Funding: $220,000
Project Dates on US Side: January 1, 2006 - January 31, 2010 (Completed)
Project Overview
Computational mechanics supports simulation-based design leading to virtual prototyping of engineering devices, serving as a bridge between physical engineering design and theoretical and conceptual modeling. While other countries have invested in developing indigenous expertise in the field in order to enhance their industrial competitiveness, Pakistan’s computational mechanics resources have up to now been limited. This project was designed to address the problem by developing both human resources and the technical infrastructure to promote the application of advanced engineering design methodologies in contemporary product development. It is hoped that the program created at GIKI under this now-completed project will continue as a self-sustaining center that will serve as a liaison with industry on emerging industrial design needs.
Major Results
- Launched new Computational Mechanics Program at GIKI, including a curriculum of more than ten courses leading to the MS degreein
- Created a large- scale computational facility at GIKI, which provides an infrastructure for finding high-end solutions to technical problems facing Pakistani industry
- Trained more than 200 Pakistani graduate students, researchers, and industry practitioners in workshops, seminars, and short courses
- Facilitated active faculty and graduate student exchange program (ten US faculty and two graduate students to Pakistan, two Pakistani faculty and one graduate student to the United States)
- Produced 18 joint research papers and 20 conference presentations
- Attracted strong interest from other academic institutions in Pakistan that wish to use the new computing infrastructure at GIKI
Progress Report Summaries
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2010 Show summary || Hide summary
During the four years of its existence, this project has spurred increased awareness among academicians and industry practitioners of the importance of computational mechanics in engineering design and analysis. More than 200 professionals have been trained through workshops and seminars, including graduate students and practitioners from different industrial and academic organizations. Thanks to the high performance computing infrastructure now available at GIKI, and some off-the-shelf available professional software, high-end solutions to problems of importance to industry are now possible in Pakistan, solutions that would not have been possible otherwise. National University (NU-FAST) faculty members trained at GIKI workshops offered under this project have started teaching parallel computing courses and carrying out small projects on parallel computing and distributed networking. GIKI has been requested to allow NU students and faculty to utilize GIKI’s computational infrastructure for research, and other Pakistani academic institutions are also showing interest in utilizing the high-end computing infrastructure developed at GIKI. As of the project's end date in January 2010, 18 joint papers had been produced and 20 conference presentations had been made as a result of the project.
2009 Show summary || Hide summary
In January 2009 Dr. Masud made a week-long visit to Pakistan, during which he gave a seminar at GIKI that was attended by GIKI faculty and students as well as faculty from Peshawar University and the University of Engineering and Technology Taxila. He also met with two master’s degree students and one Ph.D. candidate and evaluated their progress. In June 2009 he made another visit to continue mentoring the students. Dr. Abid made a return visit to UIUC from July 17 through August 30, 2009, to continue work on ongoing projects, and in December Dr. Khokhar met with Masroor Hussain at the Frontiers of Information Technology Conference in Abbotabad. Later that month, a GIKI team supervised by Dr. Abid and including Mr. Muftooh-ur-Rehman, a graduate student participating in the project, took part in the 3rd All-Pakistan Digital Innovation Competition and Exhibition. Their project on Water Flow Simulation through the Tarbela Dam Reservoir and Spillways won second prize among projects submitted by 65 teams from throughout Pakistan.
2008 Show summary || Hide summary
In June 2008 Dr. Masud and his Pakistani partners presented a short course on nonlinear finite element analysis at GIKI for 25 Pakistani students and advised other students and staff on high performance computing and advanced data structures. Meanwhile, a PhD student from GIKI, Mr. Masroor Hussain, arrived in Illinois in January 2008 for an one-year visit, during which he took courses on algorithms, parallel processing, data mining, and nonlinear finite element analysis.
2007 Show summary || Hide summary
During the summer of 2007 Drs. Masud and Khokhar presented another short course at GIKI on nonlinear finite element methods June 4-8, 2007, and Dr. Masud and another UIUC colleague, Dr. Rizwan Uddin, presented seminars on related topics in mechanics that were well attended by GIKI staff, students, and representatives of other academic, industrial, and research institutions..
2006 Show summary || Hide summary
This project included organization of hands-on tutorials and workshops on computational methods and simulation techniques for faculty, students, and industry practitioners, development of an interdisciplinary computational mechanics curriculum at GIKI, and creation of a high-performance computing platform to support large-scale simulation needs. After consultations with the US partners, the components for the Beowulf cluster were purchased and installed in the fall of 2006. This 64-node Beowulf PC cluster connected via gigabit Ethernet is the centerpiece of the institute’s new High Performance Computing Lab. Available for use by faculty and research staff as well students, this cluster provides the backbone for large-scale computational projects at GIKI.
In December 2006 Dr. Masud returned to Pakistan for a third visit on the project to review progress on the new course curriculum, help evaluate the performance of the new PhD candidates and master’s degree students, and work with GIKI colleagues to install additional codes on the new Beowulf cluster.
Back to Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Program Phase 1 Grants List
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